5 Aug 2021

New book highlights migration journeys of Cook Islands mamas

From , 6:01 am on 5 August 2021

The lives of Twelve Cook Islands women who left their islands to make a life in New Zealand are documented in a new book which was launched in their new hometown Tokoroa on Tuesday.

In Te Kinakina: E Ngara I te Ngari, the authors detail their migration to and livelihoods in Tokoroa.

The book's editor Vaughan Rapatahana says it portrays themes of kōpu tangata, home and church.

Tokoroa is home to one of the largest Cook Islands populations anywhere in the world - with 85 percent of Pasifika there identifying as Cook Islander.

Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor spoke with Vaughan Rapatahana about how the book came into being.

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Photo: RNZ/Daniela Maoate-Cox